


Taking the chance

by AtPK



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eruri Week 2015, M/M, eruri - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-14 04:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4550646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtPK/pseuds/AtPK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eruri Week Drabble: Trust (Day 8) | crossover with daughter of smoke and bone, Levi is a chimaera and Erwin is a seraphim | mentions of blood and gore</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking the chance

Levi landed and skidded on the wet stone straight towards the far side of the ledge. He stretched his wings wide and then slammed the tips down hard, the talons at the end latching on to the stone and stopping him in his tracks. It wrenched where the wings met his back. He’d feel that in the morning, if he ever lived to see tomorrow. He stood up slowly and furled his wings in behind him.

They’d spot him soon, he didn’t have long to catch his breath.

The battlefield was a massacre.

Rain dripped in his eyes and he wiped it away, seeing the blood mingled with the water. The blood of his fallen comrades. He was so focused on his hand that he didn’t notice the angel till it was right on top of him. It hurtled out of the sky above, like a bullet, bowling into him with such force that they both flew backwards.

The angel was easily twice Levi’s size and he overpowered Levi without difficulty, a forearm jammed up under his chin both choking him and pinning him down.

From the corner of his eye Levi saw the flash of metal and knew the angel had drawn his sword. Twisting and turning, he shoved and punched at the broad chest above him, trying to get some space to breath. His wings beat uselessly against the stone and his vision started to blur.

The angel looked down at him, his face twisted into an ugly mask of hatred, a look so full of disgust that it only spurred Levi to fight harder, refusing to let it be the last thing he saw in this life. His tail flicked free from under him and he lashed it around, lassoing the angel’s neck and pulling tight. For a moment Levi was satisfied by the gagging noises and then he was hauled to his feet and brutally shaken.

Their wings battered against each other, but Levi wouldn’t let up his hold on the angel’s neck. He didn’t know how close they were to the edge until the angel lost his footing and they were falling, smashing into each other and hurtling apart, a kaleidoscope of light and dark, one moment in free-fall, the next smashing against the rock-face.

Levi caught one hard crack to his head, and his vision blurred before narrowing down to black.

At first everything was a numb, safe cocoon, but the longer he lay there the more he became aware of the pain, a pain that seemed to envelop every part of his body. He lifted his head and retched, his body heaving a few times before settling back down. It was a little while longer before he attempted to move again and, when he did, it was only to test his wings, flexing each one in turn, relieved that they at least hadn’t been damaged.

The angel…

The jolt of fear made him once again try to push himself up, but this time it was the intense pain in his ribs that made him stop. Instead he slowly lifting his head and squinted through the blood-haze, searching the darkness of the ravine for his enemy.

There was nothing.

He was alone.

But then he heard it, a soft tumble of stones, and the adrenaline had him up on his hooves in an instant.

The angel had come out of the fall far worse then Levi. There was a large pool of blood spreading out from his crumpled body and Levi was convinced he was dead until he exhaled sharply and inhaled a wheezing breath. Levi moved closer and nudged him over onto his back. The angels eyes were open and they stared at him with a cold fury. Even now, when he was this close to death, all he could think about was killing Levi. It was still his sole driving force.

“Get away from me, Kirin.”

Levi ignored him.

The angel heaved himself into a sitting position, coughing, harsh and ragged, splattering blood in a fine mist. Levi watched him, assessing whether he was still any kind of threat. His leg was broken. Levi could see the white of the bone through the mangle of his flesh. But it was his right wing that really caught Levi’s attention. It was twisted unnaturally, hanging bent and broken, useless. This angel wouldn’t be flying again anytime ever.

Levi didn’t look away when the angel caught his gaze.

It wouldn’t have taken much for Levi to end it, to snuff out the angels light as easily as the angel would have ended his; and he wanted to do it. He wanted to kick and kick and kick until the angel wasn’t even recognisable as an angel anymore, until he could no longer look at Levi like he was the monster.

The angel braced to fight as Levi moved closer, his good wing battering the air.

“Relax, seraphim, I’m not going to do anything.”

The angel bared his teeth and snarled at him.

Levi paused.

Even though it was obvious the angel was in no position to stop him, he still wasn’t going to give up without a fight, and Levi could respect that.

“You need my help.”

“I do not.”

Levi shrugged.

He wasn’t going to waste too much effort. It was only his curiosity that was keeping the angel alive right now either way. He remembered Madrigal’s words, preaching that the angels were redeemable, that not all of them were mindless murderers, that it was possible for them to love; she had loved an angel and she had died for her love of that angel. If this angel could prove that he deserved to live, then perhaps … well, Levi’d deal with that if it came to it.

“It’s up to you, but, if something isn’t done to stop that blood, you’re gonna die down here.”

“And why exactly do you care?” the angel’s voice was weak and as he spoke his eyes lost focus, his head rolling on his shoulders. He was just barely holding on to consciousness.

“What’s your name, seraphim?” Levi demanded and the angel responded to his clipped tone, as they’d all been bred to do.

“Erwin.”

“Well, Erwin, I’m about to set your leg. Do you want to bite into anything?”

The angel shook his head and Levi resisted the urge to shake his head too. No, of course not. They were all the same. There was nothing about this angel that made him any more deserving of life then any other, but Levi was still willing to give the credit of doubt. For now.

Levi hunkered down beside him and, gripping his shin in one hand and his thigh in the other, he cracked them together hard, his fingers slipping in the blood. He looked back up at the angel, noting the clenched jaw and heaving chest with clinical interest.

“I can’t do anything about your wing.”

“Cut it off.” the angel commanded.

For a moment Levi stared at him, unsure if he meant it or not. He’d seen the effects of amputation once before, the agony, the gush of blood, hard and fast. He didn’t want to see it again.

“That’s something you’re gonna have to do on your own.”

“Then give me a knife.”

Levi laughed and stood up, moving back. He wasn’t foolish enough to give the angel a weapon that would no doubt, in the end, be used to slit his own throat.

“Why don’t you just kill me?” the angel spat.

“Despite what you think, I’m not a monster.”

“You use the teeth of the dead to give yourself life, and you say you’re not a monster?”

“We do what we have to do.”

“How many times have you been resurrected?”

Levi turned away from him, angry.

“If you weren’t trying to wipe us off the face of Eretz, we wouldn’t have to do these things.”

The angel laughed, rich and clear.

They both looked at the knife, glinting in the darkness.

“Give it to me,” the angel said again.

Levi took the few steps and stooped down to pick it up, but he had no intention of giving it to the angel.

“I’ll do it.”

Levi convinced himself that it was still just his curiosity that influenced him, but the quiet whisper in the back of his mind said that right now he just wanted to make the angel pay for his words.

Kneeling down beside him again, Levi grasped his broken wing. He straightened it out as much as possible so that he could reach the point closest to the angels shoulder. He swallowed and began to hack at the cartilage, feeling the angel wrench away from him, and the blood begin to spurt. Although the angel was trying not to pull away, it took all Levi’s strength to hold him still, straddling his thigh and hacking fiercely through the bone.

Now, the angel was screaming.

The wing came away with a cracking, ripping sound and fell to the ground.

The angel passed out.

In the silence that followed, Levi watched and waited. He’d often wondered how satisfying it would be to hack off an angels wings. But, as he sat with the angels blood drying on his skin, he realised the dream was very far removed from the reality. It was only a matter of time now to find out if the angel was strong enough to pull through or not.

It had gone quiet up top which could only mean that all the Chimaera were dead. If Levi was caught now, they would think he had tortured the angel and bathed in his blood; which probably wouldn’t have been too far from the truth.

It started to rain; large, heavy drops finding their way to the depths of the ravine where they mingled with the angels blood and made him bleed harder. Levi, deciding that it was an unfair disadvantage, made his way over to where the angel lay and sat down at the furthest possible point to span his left wing over the unconscious body.

The angel twitched and flinched, his one remaining wing flaring out before once again falling to the ground.

There was the sound of dripping water nearby and Levi closed his eyes. When he opened them again the sky was lighter and the rain had stopped. He looked up and met the angels piercing blue glare. He groaned when he noticed his knife in the angels hand. They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Levi sat up straighter.

“It’s Erwin, isn’t it?”

The angel nodded.

“Are you going to kill me, Erwin?”

The angel frowned.

“I wouldn’t have hesitated, up top. I would have held you down and run you through with my sword.”

Levi knew that was true, but he also knew that the angel had had however long he’d been asleep to kill him and he hadn’t done it.

“So what’s changed?”

“I can’t kill you now.”

“I’m sure you could.”

“No. I’m indebted to you.”

Levi first balked and then laughed.

“You’re what?”

“You saved my life. I owe you.”

The angel spoke quieter and quieter as he explained.

They both stared at each other in awkward silence.

Levi looked away, his gaze falling instead on the angels discarded wing. “What’ll happen to you when you go back?”

The angel didn’t even glance in the direction of Levi’s gaze. “I will be euthanised.”

“They’ll kill you?” Levi rephrased, simply.

“What good is a warrior that can’t fly?”

“Not all warriors fly.”

“The ones that count, do.”

Levi could see by the look in his eyes that he believed what he was saying.

“So don’t go back.”

The angel now stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t get out of this ravine with a broken leg and only one wing. I’m trapped.”

There was no denying that.

“I could help you.”

“I’m not sure how you think you’d do that.” the angel replied, looking him up and down.

“I’m stronger than I look, seraphim.” Levi smiled and the angel looked unsure. “It’s your choice.”

The angel stared at him for a long time, his sharp gaze looking right into Levi.

“Like I said, it’s your choice.”

“Fine.” the angel eventually bit out. “Let’s do it.”

Levi nodded although his reluctance to approach the angel suddenly put a cold ring of doubt around his neck. The angel seemed to sneer at his indecision and Levi glared at him. He stepped closer, the closest he’d ever got to the enemy before without trying to kill it, and spread his wings, flapping them to get a feel for the air. The angel drew back a little and now it was Levi’s turn to sneer. The angel glared at him.

The angels skin was clammy to the touch and he felt too hot. Levi slipped his arms under the angels and locked them together around his chest, like some obscene romantic gesture.

Without a word he kicked off and up. He was strong but he could tell from the start that this was probably too much even for him. His ribs screamed and burned in protest and made it difficult for him to breathe. They were a quarter of the way up before his energy started to flag and they dropped a few feet.

The angel groaned, his wounds jolted by the sudden drop. Levi could feel his laboured breathing, he could also feel the angels remaining wing flex and strain between them and he shifted back slightly to allow it to unfurl. It stretched further in span than Levi’s own; beautiful white feathers, splattered with blood. The angel added his last bits of strength to Levi’s and they propelled upwards.

They landed with a thump on the dew covered dirt, tumbling apart. Levi stayed in a crouched position, his wings still stretched and ready to fly if the angel made any move of aggression towards him.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

Levi slowly stood up. “Yeah well, you don’t know me.”

The angel stared at him again with that same hard gaze.

“Anyway, I expect you to repay me sometime.”

“Of course. Everything you’ve done is for your own benefit.”

Levi didn’t bother to respond. He certainly hadn’t done it out of the goodness of his heart.

The angels gaze snapped to something behind him but before he could react he was caught in a vice-like grip, his arms and wings pinioned at his side and behind him.

He should never have let his guard down.

The angel behind him only tightened his grip as Levi fought to escape.

“Erwin, what’re you waiting for? Kill it.”

Levi watched as the angel leaned down to pick up a blood covered sword from the battlefield. He tried to push away but only met the hard unyielding chest of his captor.

So, it had all been bollocks and now he was going to die. Again.

The angel stepped up in front of him, cutting out more of the light, and Levi stared up at him, defiantly.

“Go on, do it.”

If they thought he was going beg, they’d have a long time to wait.

The angel continued to stare at him, straight into his eyes, as he raised the sword, the first rays of the sun glinting off it, and Levi tried not to let his fear show.

He saw the sword thrust forward and held his breath waiting for the burn of metal to rend his flesh, ripping and cutting, slicing through him. He felt the push as the angel forced the blade in to the hilt. He felt the push as the blade lifted the angel behind him up and onto his toes. He felt the grip of the angel slacken and the angel slowly sag to his knees.

Levi looked up and found Erwin still staring at him, even as he yanked the blade free and swung it, rending the head of his fallen brother clean from his shoulders.

One moment past, and then another.

Neither of them moved.

The blood slowly pooling around Levi. He’d been so sure he was about to die that it took a while for his brain to catch up. Erwin had stayed true to his word.

A few more heartbeats later and Erwin dropped the sword, reaching out his hand. Levi took it and was pulled up onto his hooves. He stumbled, the adrenaline still making him shaky, and fell against Erwin, feeling the solid muscle beneath his splayed fingers. The angels breath hitched.

“I thought you were going to kill me.”

“It seems, you don’t know me either.”

Levi ducked his head.

“So I guess we’re even now, right?” Levi asked but Erwin just looked at him confused. “I saved you, you saved me.”

“No. It doesn’t work like that. My life is forfeit to you.”

“What, forever?”

Erwin gave one quick nod. Levi stepped away from him. Seraphim ways made no sense at all.

“Well, it’s not like that’s any good to me if you go back home and let yourself be executed, is it? So, thanks for the thought but it doesn’t mean much, does it?”

Erwin looked like Levi had just spat at him but he still answered: “No, it doesn’t mean much of anything now. I’m useless to you like this.”

Big dumb angel.

“If you want to make yourself useful then you should head out that way.” Levi pointed to the mountain range in the distance. “You’ll be picked up soon enough if you do, the separatists have eyes everywhere, but if you tell them I sent you, you should be fine. They likely won’t believe you at first cos I haven’t met a seraphim yet that I haven’t killed, or that hasn’t killed me.” Levi paused. “But what’ve you got to lose?”

Erwin looked out in the direction Levi had pointed and then stared for an even longer time at the severed head by his boot.

“I have nothing to lose.”

He looked so lost that for a second Levi wanted to say something to comfort him, but that second past quickly, and Levi took another few steps away. If they met again then maybe … but it was just as likely this angel was going to follow his ingrained training and head back to barracks to be beheaded.

“What are you called?”

“I’m Levi.”

Levi heard the flap and whoosh of numerous wings and realised that the seraphim were returning to dispose of their dead brothers.

“You need to go now.” Erwin said, all hint of uncertainty gone. He was once again the efficient soldier. A blank slate.

“It’s been interesting to meet you, Erwin. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Perhaps we’ll meet again sometime.”

Erwin’s breath hitched again but before he could reply Levi furled his wings tight behind him and started to run. One of the main advantages of having the legs of a gazelle was being able to run at the speed of a gazelle. If he’d been relying on his wings to get him away they would have brought him down like an eagle taking down a sparrow.

Levi reached the far crest before he paused and looked back, searching for the angel.

Erwin was no longer on the battlefield.

Levi looked first towards the advancing seraphim and then out towards the open plane of the range. He couldn’t be sure but he thought he saw a flash of gold in the dawn light, perhaps dancing off Erwin’s wing or maybe his hair, there was no way to tell.

Levi felt a pang of anticipation, excitement even, and told himself it had absolutely nothing to do with the possibility of seeing the angel again.

He turned his back on the scene of yet another chimeara defeat and ran as fast as his hooves would take him.


End file.
